Sunday, November 5, 2023

Ohio State defeats Rutgers 35-16

   Kyle McCord threw three touchdown passes, two to Marvin Harrison Jr. as the Ohio State Buckeyes used a strong second half to rally past Rutgers 35-16 in New Jersey.

Rutgers led at the half 9-7 on three field goals and drove down the field to start the second half before Josh Proctor smashed into Rutgers' Kyle Monangai forcing the pass into the air where Jordan Hancock plucked it and ran ninety-three yards for a touchdown and the lead.

Rutgers hung around for a while but their upset chances were never close after the Hancock score.

TreVeyon Henderson finished with 128 rushing yards and 80 receiving yards to lead Ohio State, who improved to 9-0, 6-0 in the Big Ten, and will host hapless Michigan State next Saturday night in Columbus.

Olentangy Offerings

1) Another stout day for the Ohio State defense in allowing only one touchdown and sixteen points overall.

2) Rutgers did have some success running the ball and used the tactic of using the ground attack to shorten the game,

Rutgers led in time of possession thirty-five to twenty-five but once the game became a two-score game in the third quarter, Rutgers was forced to throw and that is not a strength.

3) Give Rutgers some credit, they had a plan, struck with it as long as possible, and in the end didn't have the ammo to slug it out with OSU but Greg Schiano is doing a good job with the Scarlet Knights. While Rutgers may never be a power, they could be a mid-level team under Schiano.

4) Ohio State pulled a bizarre fake punt run by Jesse Mirco that was dropped short of a first down.

What really made the call a strange one was that Mirco usually runs a bit to the right before he kicks but on this play, Mirco moved to the left which tipped off the fake.

5) Kyle McCord did throw the three touchdowns but the yardage was only 189 yards and he threw an awful second-quarter interception.

6) Marvin Harrison Jr. caught just four passes for twenty-five yards but two of those were for scores.

Rutgers made it the focus of their game plan to take Marv. Jr out of the game and they did that but you can't take them all out as...

7) TreVeyon Henderson was the leading rusher and receiver, finishing with 208 yards of total offense

Henderson gives the Buckeyes something that their other backs don't and when he is healthy, defenses have to respect the short pass out of the backfield.

8) Rutgers moved the ball better than expected but they would score just one touchdown.

The goal line stand late in the first half was key in not allowing Rutgers to be too high entering halftime and even those Rutgers rushed for over 200 yards, the defense didn't have a bad day.

9) The key play was Josh Proctor's wipeout that caused the ball to hang into the air to be grabbed by Jordan Hancock for a drive that ended a scoring threat and gave Ohio State the lead.

Hancock has played well this year and deserved a big play and Proctor left the game after the hit but will hopefully return next week.


No comments: